New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, will not give up her office until she arrives at hospital to give birth, it has been revealed.
Ardern will be only the second world leader to give birth while in office – the first being Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto in 1990.
The prime minister’s office has released Ardern’s birth plans saying she will deliver her baby at Auckland hospital but intends to travel up until her due date of 17 June.
When she is admitted to hospital to give birth she will hand the reins to the acting prime minister, Winston Peters. The statement from the prime minister’s office said there were contingency measures in place if Ardern has the baby while she is travelling.
The statement said Ardern and her partner, Clarke Gayford, would “share with the public some moments with their new baby” at the hospital but expect privacy during the six weeks she will have off work.
Ardern has said she will still be in close communication with Peters and her cabinet while she is on leave.
An announcement of the birth is likely to come via Instagram – the medium Ardern used to initially announce her pregnancy.
Ardern discovered she was pregnant six days before she became prime minister-elect in October last year and then announced the news in January. “I think it’s fair to say that this will be a wee one that a village will raise, but we couldn’t be more excited,” she wrote at the time.
Tuesday’s statement said that because of the public interest there would be a round of interviews given to major domestic media outlets close to the time Ardern returns to work. However, this would be the only formal media opportunity set aside for interviews related to her baby.
At the end of her leave Ardern has said she intends to resume all prime ministerial duties.
